Mesopotamia Powerpoint Presentation PDF

Mesopotamia: “The Cradle of Civilization”  Earliest Civilization: the Fertile Crescent Earliest of all civilizations as people formed permanent settlements Mesopotamia is a Greek word that means “between the rivers”, specifically, the area between the Tigris Rive...

Mesopotamia: “The Cradle of Civilization”  Earliest Civilization: the Fertile Crescent Earliest of all civilizations as people formed permanent settlements Mesopotamia is a Greek word that means “between the rivers”, specifically, the area between the Tigris River and Euphrates River (present day Iraq) Lasted for approximately 3000 years Its peoples were the first to irrigate fields, devised a system of writing, developed mathematics, invented the wheel and learned to work with metal  Geographic Conditions Little rainfall Hot and dry climate Windstorms leaving muddy river valleys in winter Catastrophic flooding of the rivers in spring Arid soil containing little minerals No stone or timber resources  Then why live in Mesopotamia? NATURAL LEVEES: embankments produced by build-up of sediment over thousands of years of flooding  Natural Levee create a high and safe flood plain make irrigation and canal construction easy provide protection the surrounding swamps were full of fish & waterfowl reeds provided food for sheep / goats reeds also were used as building resources  Government 12 independent city states. E.g. Ur, Uruk, Babylon, Akad. Shared a common language, customs and beliefs yet, were in constant warfare for water rights, land and power. Divine kingship - most kings were thought to be chosen by god, be a son of a god, or be a god himself. Famous kings; Gilgamesh, Sargon, Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar.  Society Sumerian society – 4 categories: 1. Nobles - (king & family, chief priests and high court officials) 2. Clients - (free men dependent on nobility) 3. Commoners - (free citizens) 4.Slaves - (prisoners of war, foreigners & criminals)  Society Women had rights – could own property and, if they had good reason, get a divorce. Slavery was a common feature in Mesopotamian society. Slaves possessed some privileges; able to hold property, participate in business, marry free men or women and purchase their freedom.  Religion Position of King was enhanced and supported by religion Kingship believed to be Gods were worshipped created by gods and the at huge temples called king’s power was divinely Ziggurats ordained Polytheistic religion consisting Belief that gods lived on the of over 3600 gods and distant mountaintops demigods Each god had control of Prominent Mesopotamian gods certain things and each city Enlil (supreme god & god of air) was ruled by a different god Ishtar (goddess of fertility & life) Kings and priests acted as An (god of heaven) interpreters as they told the Enki (god of water & underworld) people what the god wanted them to do (ie. by Shamash (god of sun and giver of examining the liver or lungs law)  Ziggurat s Large temples dedicated to the god of the city Made of layer upon layer of mud bricks in the shape of a pyramid in many tiers (due to constant flooding Ziggurat of Ur - and from belief that gods 2000BCE resided on mountaintops) Temple on top served as the god’s home and was beautifully decorated Inside was a room for offerings of food and goods Temples evolved to ziggurats- a stack of 1-7 platforms decreasing in size from bottom to top Famous ziggurat was Tower of Babel (over 100m above ground and 91m base)  History of Mesopotamia Over the centuries, many different people lived in this area creating a collection of independent states Sumer- southern part (3500-2000 BCE) Akkad- northern part (2340 – 2180 BCE) Babylonia- these two regions were unified (1830-1500 BCE and 650-500 BCE) Assyria- Assyrian Empire (1100 -612 BCE)  Sumerians social, economic and intellectual basis Irrigated fields and produced 3 main crops (barley, dates and sesame seeds) built canals, dikes, dams and drainage systems develop cuneiform writing invented the wheel Abundance of food led to steady increase of population (farm, towns, cities) first city of the world Developed a trade system with bartering: mainly barley but also wool and cloth for stone, metals, timber, copper, pearls and ivory Individuals could only rent land from priests (who controlled land on behalf of gods); most of profits of trade went to temple However, the Sumerians were not successful in uniting lower Mesopotamia  Akkadians Leader: Sargon the Great Sargon unified lower Mesopotamia (after conquering Sumerians in 2331 BCE) Established capital at Akkad Spread Mesopotamian culture However, short-lived dynasty as Akkadians were conquered by the invading barbarians by 2200 BCE  Babylonians KING HAMMURABI’S BABLYON (6th Amorite king) who conquered Akkad and Assyria (north and south) He built new walls to protect the city and new canals and dikes to improve crops Economy based on agriculture and wool / cloth individuals could own land around cities Artisans and merchants could keep most profits and even formed guilds / associations Grain used as the medium of exchange > emergence of Babylonians reunited measurement of currency: shekel = 180 grains of barley; mina = 60 Mesopotamia in 1830 BCE shekels Mina was eventually represented central location dominated trade by metals which was one of first uses of money (but it was still and secured control based on grain) YET AGAIN, Mesopotamia was not Hammurabi’s Legacy: law code unified for long…  Code of Hammurabi To enforce his rule, Hammurabi collected all the laws of Babylon in a code that would apply everywhere in the land Most extensive law code from the ancient world (c. 1800 BCE) Code of 282 laws inscribed on a stone pillar placed in the public hall for all to see Hammurabi Stone depicts Hammurabi as receiving his authority from god Shamash Set of divinely inspired laws; as well as societal laws Punishments were designed to fit the crimes as people must be responsible for own actions Hammurabi Code was an origin to the concept of “eye for an eye…” ie. If a son struck his father, the son’s hand would be cut off Consequences for crimes depended on rank in society (ie. only fines for nobility)  10th century BCE, Assyria emerged as dominant force in the north City of Assur- became important trading and political centre After Hammurabi’s death, Babylon fell apart and kings of Assur controlled more of surrounding area and came to dominate Made conquered lands pay taxes (food, animals, metals or timber) Rule by fear as kings were first to have a permanent army made up of professional soldiers (estimated 200 000 men) Made superior weapons of bronze and iron iron changed lifestyles in Mesopotamia in weapons and in daily life ie. replaced wooden wheels and applied to horse drawn chariots Assyrian reunited Mesopotamia and established the first true empire However, states began to revolt and ONCE AGAIN, Assyrian Empire collapsed by late 7th century BCE By 539 BCE, Mesopotamia became part of the vast Persian Empire (led by Cyrus the Great) Persian Empire dominated for 800 years until Alexander the Great Developme nt Of WRITING  Development of Writing Pictograms: picture to show meaning Ideograms: signs to represent words / ideas Phonetics: signs to represent sounds *Phonetics are the basis of most writing systems  Writing Greatest contribution of Mesopotamia to western civilization was the invention of writing allowed the transmission of knowledge, the codification of laws, records to facilitate trade / farming Sumerians wrote on wet clay tablets with the point of a reed > then dried in the sun to make a tablet Scribes were only ones who could read and write and served as priests, record keepers and accountants As society evolved, the first form of writing was developed called CUNEIFORM (meaning “wedge shaped”), dating to 3500 BCE Cuneiform spread to Persia and Egypt and became the vehicle for the growth and spread of civilization and the exchange of ideas among cultures Gilgamesh Gilgamesh is an ancient story or epic written in Mesopotamia more than 4000 thousand years ago Gilgamesh is the first known work of great literature and epic poem Epic mentions a great flood Gilgamesh parallels the Nippur Tablet, a six-columned tablet telling the story of the creation of humans and animals, the cities and their rulers, and the great flood ANALYSIS Gilgamesh and the Nippur tablet both parallel the story of Noah and the Ark (great flood) in the Old Testament of the Jewish and Christian holy books Modern science argues an increase in the sea levels about 6,000 years ago (end of ice age) the melting ice drained to the oceans causing the sea level to rise more than ten feet in one century  Royal Tombs of Ur From 1922 to 1934, excavation of the ancient Sumerian city of Ur City famed in Bible as the home of patriarch Abraham discoveries such as extravagant jewelry of gold, cups of gold and silver, bowls of alabaster, and extraordinary objects of art and culture opened the world's eyes to the full glory of ancient Sumerian culture Great Death Pit mass grave containing the bodies of 6 guards and 68 servants grave was a great funeral procession drank poison, choosing to accompany the kings and  Interesting Facts! Mesopotamia, specifically Babylon used a mathematical system based on sixty as all their numbers were expressed as parts of or multiples of sixty Some parts of the ‘base-sixty’ system still remain today: 360 degrees in a circle, 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in 1 hour Devised a calendar based on cycles of the moon (number of days between the appearance of two new moons was set as a month; 12 cycles made up a year  Who was the best? Sumer Babylon Assyria Closely tied to Production of Kings conquered environment food through Irrigation farming Private lands to create techniques for empire of Assyria farming ownership of Cooler climate wheel land vs ownership by the could Trade- bartering produce crops with gods Writing- Developed cuneiform little irrigation mathematics Deposits of ore Religion tied to and calendar government as system and allowed for priests and system of units development and kings made for currency use decision for Hammurabi’s of iron gods Assyrian army law code ziggurats became most effective military force Legacies of Mesopotamia Revolutionary innovations emerged in Mesopotamia such as: Codified laws Ziggurats Cuneiform Irrigation Metal working, tools Trade Transportation Wheel Writing Mathematics Prosperous living based on large scale agriculture